Mechanical bricklayer device



June 17, 1930. A. A. GUERINI MECHANICAL BRICKLAYER DEVICE Filed Sept.29, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l J n H 11W 1 I, .F .F .7 11, I T J. IIL II:ILBUUUUUUUUUHU BUHU Q a R Q R 3 N June 17, 1930. I GUERlNl I I 1,764,836

MECHANICAL BRICKLAYER DEVICE Filed Sept. 29, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June17, 1930. A. A. GUERINI MECHANICAL BRICKLAYER DEVICE Filed Sept. 29,1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 17, 1930 UNIT STATES 'ATENT rr cEANNIBALE'A. GUEBINI, OF NEW YORK, 'N. Y;

iv ncnnnrcen BRICKLAYER nnv rcn r A p ilication filed September 29 1927.Seria1 1 'o.222,828.

My ivention consists of a mechanical de vice which may be employed forsettingbricks in wall. i

v The object of the invention consists in ade vice composed of'fourparts, by whichit is possible to divide the work of the'bricklayer intoseveral specialized 'pai'ts,1and have each man perform his ownspecial'work in order to obtain inoreefiicient and perfect work.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodiment of theinvention, but

the device therein shown is to be understood as illustrative, only,andnot as defining the' Figures 1 2 and 7.

Figure 7 isa top View of the pattern on enlarged-scale. j i Figures 8and 10 are detail views of the transverse bars of the pattern;

T Figure 9 is a view of the lnside longitudi 11 al bars of the pattern.

Figure 11 is-a top vlewfof a wall'showing an opening and one cornervof'the wall, with the patterns for layingfbri'cks set in position.{Figure 12 1s a front view of a flat'arch.

Figure 13 is a front view on enlarged scale showing afiat arch.

Figure 14 is a top view of the truck'for the E bars 6 and 7, see Figure7,"are secured the ears 1 and 13 provided with holes forlthe v droppinghammer. v v

Figure 15' is a longitudinal section on the line 15-15 of Figure 14;. iV Figure 16 isalongitudinal'section'on the line16e16 of Figure 15.

The mechanical bricklayer which is illus v trated in the accompanydrawingsis nade for building'walls with sunken joints and embodies fourparts, viz; E is the fraine for l ayin g the mortar, and is formed bythe two sideslarid 2 and the two heads 3 and 4. The outside faces ofthe'two sides are made to come flush to the face of the wall, and thesides have a thickness equalto the depth of the sunken joints. Theheight ofthe sides is a trifle more than the thickness of the joints,which are brought afterwards to the desired thickness, by the action ofthe hammer over. the layed bricks as hereinafter described. The frame isadapted to be held firnilyin;

' PQSltlOH by tongues 5, secured lllBLlCll side thereof." The lower endof the tongues flare outwardly to facilitate the setting of the frame.The two heads 3 and ihave the same outline as the heads of the patternF,and the several segments of each head are secured together by screws, soas to make the frame rigid and at the salnetirne easy to dismantle andreassemblewhen it is desired to change the outside lines.

The pattern F has the same outline as the frame E, with the differencethat the inside part of the two sides6 and 7 areadaptedto be flush withthe wall. The pattern is coin- V posed of the longitudinal bars 6,7,8,9Yand 10 and the transverse bars 11 and 64. The number of thelongitudinal and the trans verse bars will vary in acco'rdancewith thethickness of the wall andthe position which the'bricks are to'belaid.

*The thickness of the inside"longitudinal bars 8, '9 and 10 and thetransverse bars 11:

and 64 is a trifle less than the joints to be) formed between bricks,and the bars are set apart in accordance with the size of the brick.

"The inside longitudinal andthe transverse bars are of slightly lessheight tlian the outside longitudinalbars, so that they willbe free fromcontact with the mortar below. At one end of the two outsidelongitudinal pins 14- and 15, and at the oppositeend, these bars havetwo holes 16*and '17s The ears,

thepins and the holes serve to connect the patterns together, whenseveral patterns are set in position end to end in a continuous line: ii

Near the ends and in both of the outside longitudinal bars are securedthe braces 18 and"19,see Figure 5. 0n the lower en'dof these braces 18and 19 are fixed the plates 20.

The inside faces of the plates and braces are in vertical alinement withthe inside faces of the outside longitudinal bars 6 and 7. About midwayof its length each of these braces is provided with a threaded hole fora threaded pin 21. The location of this pin must be accurately fixed, bycalculating the thickness of the bricks to be used and the width of thejoints to be allowed. A small error in the location of this pin is boundto result in error in the height of the openings for doors and windows.Each pin 21 has an adjustable collar 22 adapted to be locked in positionby a set screw so as to prevent the pins from entering into the jointsmore than it is desired.

In the top of the outside longitudinal bars 6 and 7 are holes 23 forhooks 24 fixed in the transverse bars 11 and 64. WVhenever the 4transverse barsll and 64 are part of the heads of the pattern, thesebars,beside being hung to the longitudinal bars, arealso secured to themby screws, the screws to be used for this purpose being the 7 thumbscrews 25. When securing the ears 12 and 13,, the braces 18 and 19 andthe thumb screws 25 to the bars, care should be taken that they will notinterfere with the flange of the wheels of the truck for the droppinghammer, presently to be described. i

In the top of the inside longitudinal bars are also vertical holes 23,see Figures 8, 9 and 10. The top part of each hole is out to form achannel and this channel will permit the hook of the transverse bars todescend until the top surface of the transverse-bars are flush with thetop surfaces of all longitudinal bars. Below the vertical holes 23 arethe threaded holes 26, these holes are at the same distance from the topsurface of the bars as are the holes27 of the transverse bars. Thetransverse bars are of two dimensions, the bars 11 are a trifle longerthan the'width of the brick, and the bars 64-are a trifle longer thanthe length of the brick. The section of the transverse bars is the sameas the inside longitudinal bars, and on their ends are fixed the hooks24 adjacent holes27. The hooks are used for connecting the transversebars to the longitudinal bars. The pattern is made rigid by tighteningthe screws 25.

i The outside line of the grouting frame G is the same as themortarllayer frame E, and to this grouting frame are secured the teeth29. The inside faces of the teeth are flush with the inside faceof thelongitudinal bars 30. The width of the teeth is a trifle less than thewidth of-the joints, and each tooth a trifle less in height than thethickness of the bricks. The teeth must be. accurately positioned on thetransverse bars of the pattern. The purpose of the teeth is to close theopening of the joints at the fixed depth. 7 The truck for the droppinghammer is adapted to. run n top of the outside 'l'ongir tudinal bars ofthe patterns. The frame of the truck is composed of the two horizontalbars 31 and 32 to which are bolted the inclined bars 33 and 34 and thetransverse bar 35. At the front of the frame is secured the casing 36for the dropping hammer 27 To the under part of the horizontal bars aresecured the bearings for the shafts 38, 39, 4O and41. .The shaft 38 iscomposed of three parts and these three parts are united by thecouplings 42 and 43. By dividing this shaft in three parts, it ispossible to use the truck for building walls of different thickness. Thetruck is made adjustable for this purpose by lengthening the parts ofthe shaft to which are secured the flanged wheels 44 and 45, and bylengthening the two shafts to which are secured the flanged wheels 46and On the shaft 38 is fixed a gear 48 which drives a gear 49 secured onthe shaft 39. On shaft 39 are fixed'the toothed wheels 50 and 51. Whenrotated,the teeth 52 of these wheels will engage lugs 53 fixed to thehammer 37, and will raise the hammer, and as soon as the teeth arereleased from the lugs, the hammer will drop. In the opposite ends ofthe hammer casing are openings 54 in which move the bars 55 of thehammer. Across these openings are secured the stops 56, the purpose ofwhich is to prevent the hammer from striking the longitudinal bars afterthe bricks are driven down to a point at which the top faces of thebricks are sub-v stantially flush with the top faces of the bars. In therear of the casing are slots in which the lugs 53 operate. The truck ismoved by a handle 57 which is secured to the shaft 38. v

The pattern for building the arches is composed of thin strips 58, towhich are fixed channels 59 (Figures 12 and 13) The strips are laid ontop and securedto the wooden form 60 below. In the channels are insertedthe bars 61 which have a thickness equal to the width of the joints. Ifthe bricks fortheconstruction of the arch are of. conventional size, thebars 61 must be narrowat the bottom and wide on top, but if the bricksare made to the radius of the arch, then the bars 61 are about of thesame thickness throughout their length. The tops of the bars 61 enter inchannels 62 fixed to the strips 63. The positions of the channelsmust,'of course, be in'accordance with the radius of the arch.

In order to get the best results through the use of the apparatus ofthis invention, it is necessary to have the bricks in such conditionthat they may be handled rapidly so as not to delay the work for thepreparation of brick s. I find it desirable, in practice, to prepareanumber of bricks before starting the work. That is to say, in buildingsome walls it is necessary to usehalf brick lengths.

A number of such half brick lengths should be provided thatithey areready at hand. The cutting of the bricks may be accomplished by machineswell known to the trade and forms no part fo this invention; 7

Ordinarily the work of building a wall is carried on by one or more men,each of wh1ch men are assigned to a particular portlon of the wall andeach man places his own par- 1 ticular part of the wall.

In accordance with the present invention, in contradistinction, theseveral men who are engaged in building the wall with the apparatus ofthis invention operate conjointly upon the work to'be done and cooperatein the use of the apparatus so thatthe several courses are built upthroughout the length of the wall by the use of themachine as carried onby a gang of men which manipulate it.

In practice, the apparatus may be operated with such rapidity that thehighest efficiency generally demands about six men. For example, thework is started by the mortar man whose duty it is to set one or' moremortar frames E end to end along the line of the wall. For the first fewcourses the downward projections of the motar i0 V V sirable in practlceto use three patterns at a and fills in the confines of the frame. The

mortar is smoothed ofi at the top of the frame by the use of a straightedge and the frame may then be removed and placed at the end of the rowof frames. which is being set up.

As soon as the mortar frame is removed from the mortar, the man incharge of the pattern frame sets the pattern right on top of the mortarlayer being careful to note that the pins 21 enter into thepredeterminedjoint and these pins are then turned up tight against the collars andthe four thumb screws 25 are tightened. During this work, it is detimepositioned end'to' end. This minimizes errors in length and vertical andhorizontal levels. At-thesame time as-the second orpattern man issetting the pattern, the first man will have laid another batch ofmortar so that thepattern man can set additional patterns as he removesthem from their-previous position. The consecutive patterns are,connected by the pins 14; and 15. 'If these not properly fit in theholes of ad acent patterns, it will be apparent at once that pins do thepattern is not being set correctly and appropriate correction may bemade.

As the pattern man finishes setting the pat-.

tern, the brick man fills the pattern with bricks received from a hodcarrier or wheel.- barrow man in order that the bricks may be quicklyand expeditiously supplied to the brick layer. The hammer apparatus ispreferably operated by another man whose duty it is to attend to thismachine exclusively. As soon as the patterns are filled with bricks, thehammer man sets the truck carrying the hammer on the top of the patternwiththe flange wheels run on the outside longitudinal bars thereof. Thetruck is run back and forth until the bricks (see Figure 5) which project above the patterns are depressed by blows of the reciprocatinghammer until they become flush with the top faces of the bars.

After thebricks are properly tamped or hammered into place asspecifiedby the hammer apparatus, this apparatus is moved on to the nextpattern and immediately the pattern which has just been finished isremoved and placed on the forward end of the row vwhich is beingbuiltnp. The grouting frame is next set over the bricks just laid. Asepa= rate man preferably handles this work. He

sets the grouting frame over the hammered bricks and makes sure that theteeth 29 enter the transverse joints of the bricks so. as to give properdepth to the joints. After a grouting. frame is in position, a quantityof rout is dum ed into the frame and withthe b P help of a trowel orscraper, the grout is caused to sink into the joints between the bricks.

The grout is preferably fairly stiff so that as soon as it has beenplaced in position the grout frame can be removedand set into anothersection further along.

It will thus be apparent that when several men are working along thesame course and operating the several parts of the apparatus, the workproceeds very rapidly and at the same time with mechanical uniformity.In

practice, the speed with which the bricks can be laid by thisapparatusis greatly in excess of that at which even the best brick layer can;

lay them and work is moreover more uniform than could be done by hand-Furthermore, skilled bricklayers are not required to do the work asrelatively unskilled labor has been found to give thoroughlysatisfactory results.

At the end of each course, it is necessary to have the patterns set forthe next course sothe bricks of the next course are laid across thejoints below. This operation is easily accomplished. The'transverse barsarev unbooked, the head bars areunscrewed from the longitudinal .bars,and the new compartments of the pattern will be assembled so that thetransverse bars will be in the center of the bricks" below. j l Vheneverthe courses are madewith-the bricks on end the inside longitudinal barsareredu'ced inquantity and the short transversebars 11 are substitutedwith thetransversebars 64. However, as the sets of framesandpatterns-are not veryex-pensive, it is practical to have a few setsfor each different course. The set of patterns for the corners andopenings are made expressly for the purpose.

In Figure 11, a wall in the making is shown and in this view a number ofpatterns are in position to receive the bricks. In most of thesepatterns, the bricks have been placed while in one of them, the bricksare omitted. The section H corresponds to a solid portion of the wall,while the section L corresponds to anopening such as a door or windowopening. There are no bricks in this section, but the pattern has beenincorporated in order that proper spacing of the patterns for thesections H and M may be obtained. Furthermore, certain bricks have beenomitted at the adjacent ends of the sections H and M so as to form jambsat the opening. The section N shows corner construction and as hereillustrated, these corner patterns are especially made for the purposeand the compartments therein are appropriatevto particular courses. Itwill be'ap'parent, however, that special'corner sections are notessential andthat the corners may be set by the use of the re ular wallmolds.

i or the building of an arch, straight or curved, the pattern iscomposed of a lower strip 58 which is set on top the form 60, and thebars 61 which are inserted in the channels 59 and 62. The bars are atrifle wider than the interior joint of the bricks, so that one bar willsupport the edges of two bricks. The bricks are laid over the bars,starting from the two sides toward the center. After the bricks arelaid, the joints are filled with grout and when the grout has started toset, the top strip 63 is removed and the bars 61 are pulled up. Theholes left by the bars are filled with grout. i

From the above descripti0n,it is evident that in building a wall withthe mechanical bricklayer, it is not necessary to have skilled andexperienced bricklayers, as the responsibility for accuracy rests on thearchitect wh -o provides the plans. By using the mechanlcalbricklayer,the walls are built more accurately than is possible when the bricks arelaid by hand as heretofore. Moreover, the

joints will be all filled. Besides the above advantages, the mechanicalbricklayer af-. fords a saving of labor, as there is no loss of time inplumbing or aligning as when the work is done by hand.

Having thus fully'described' the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. In a mechanical bricklayer, apattern d1- vided into compartments shaped to receive the bricks-to belaidand suitably disposed to produce a staggered relation between therespective bricks. and means for maintaining the pattern in horizontalposition on a wall and: against inadvertent movement in a di rectionperpendicular to the face of the wall, said means-comprisinga luralityof supporting projections carried by the pattern and arranged to extendinto the joints between previously laid courses of bricks to support thepattern in firm position directly upon an already built portion of thewall.

2. In a mechanical bricklayer, a pattern divided into compartmentsshaped to receive the bricks to be laid and suitably disposed to producea staggered relation between the respective bricks, and means forsupporting the pattern in horizontal position on a wall andat apredetermined distance from the next subjacent course of bricks, saidmeans comprising a plurality of supporting projections carried by thepattern and arranged to extend into joints between previously laidcourses of bricks to support the pattern in firm position directly uponan already built portion of the wall.

3. In a mechanical bricklayer, a pattern embodying a plurality ofcompartments adapted to receive bricks and space them apart inpredetermined relation, and means for supporting the pattern inhorizontal position on a wall and in desired vertical spaced relationabove the next subjacent course of bricks in the wall, said meanscomprising a plurality of supporting projections carried by the patternand arranged to extend into joints. between previously laid courses ofbricks to support the pattern in firm position directly upon an alreadybuilt portion of the wall.

v 4. In a mechanicalbricklayer, a pattern embodying a plurality oflongitudinally eX- tending bars with spacing elements positioned betweenthe bars to space said bars apart and form therewith a plurality ofcompartments adapted to receive bricks in predetermined spaced apartrelation, means for detachably securing the longitudinal bars andtransverse spacing elements rigidly to gether, and means for supportingthe pattern in predetermined relation to the preceding courses of brickin a partially built wall.

5. In a mechanical bricklayer, a pattern embodying a plurality oflongitudinally extending bars with spacing elements positioned betweenthe bars to space said bars apart and form therewith a plurality ofcompartments adapted to receive bricks in predetermined spaced apartrelation, means for detachably securing the longitudinal barsan'dtransverse spacing elements rigidly together, means forsupportingthe pattern in predetermined relation to the preceding coursesof brick in a partially built wall, and brick setting mechanismembodying a wheeled truckadapted to ride on the longitudinal bars of thepattern, andbrick setting means carried by said truck and operable uponbricks contamedin the compartments to set the bricks into a bed ofmortar provided beneath them.

6. In a mechanical bricklayer, a pattern embodying compartments in whichbricks are adapted to be positioned, means for supporting the pattern inhorizontal position above a bed of mortar, and a reciprocating hammersupported on the pattern and operable upon the bricks to drive thebricks down to a proper seat in the mortar bed.

7. In a mechanical bricklayer, a pattern embodying compartments in whichbricks are adapted to be positioned, means for supporting the pattern inhorizontal position above a bed of mortar, a wheeled carriage mounted totraverse the top of the pattern, and hammering mechanism on saidcarriage to hammer the bricks contained in the pattern to a proper seatin the bed of mortar.

8. In an apparatus of the character described, a pattern embodyinglongitudinal bars spaced apart by spacing elements which form with thebars compartments adapted to receive bricks in predetermined spacedapart relation, and means for detachably securing the spacing elementsto the bars, whereby the parts may be dismantled and reassembled to varythe relation between the compartments.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, a pattern embodyinglongitudinal bars spaced apart by spacing elements which form with thebars compartments adapted to receive bricks in predetermined spacedapart relation, means for detachably securing the spacing elements tothe bars, whereby the parts may be dismantled and reassembled to varythe relation between the compartments, and means for supporting thepattern in horizontal position above a partially built wall. 1

10. In an assembly of the character described, a pattern embodying aplurality of compartments adapted to receive bricks, and means forsupporting the pattern in horizontal position on a partially built walland in predetermined spaced relation above the next preceding course ofpreviously laid bricks, said means comprising a plurality of supportingprojections carried by the pattern and arranged to extend into jointsbetween previously laid courses of bricks to support the pattern in firmposition directly upon an already built portion of the wall.

11. In an assembly of the character described, a pattern embodyinga'plurality of compartments adapted to receive bricks, and supportingdevices secured to the pattern for supporting the pattern on a wall inlevel horizontal position and at a predetermined distance above apreviously laid course ofbrick and in correct, lateral adjustment toinsure vertical building of the wall said means comprising a pluralityof supporting projections carried by the pattern and arranged to extendinto the joints between previously laid ANNIBALE A. GUERINI.

